


tales from the past

by pantarei



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, F/M, Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-28 11:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18755626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pantarei/pseuds/pantarei
Summary: 26th of April“So, do you want to talk about her?”* Sam asked with a smug grin on his face, to his former captain and friend“No, I think I want”* he said gazing the skylineA comfortable silence fell, then they felt the air behind them move.“Oh it should be her, he told me she should have be coming” said old Steve with a smile on is face“Coming? Who is coming?”  a confused Falcon asked, then Bucky started to pull his elbow and it makes him turn around.That’s not possible





	1. Out of time

**Author's Note:**

> Desclaimer: I own nothing, all the rights go to the legally owner of the charcaters. this is a pure fictional work  
> Hi folks!  
> After Endgame I decide to write a story, non trying to fix it, but to explain what could come, so I tryed to stuck with the canon as much as I could and in the same time developing my own story.  
> Note that english isn't my first language, so you'll probably find some mistakes, I would be glad if you could correct me, because other than doing this for fun I'm doing this to improve my written English

Vormir  
Date and Time: unknow

Steve’s footsteps resounded heavy on the ground of Vormir. He was walking proudly with the Mjolnir in one of his hand and the soul stone in the other.  
He had to do it, whatever it takes.  
“I’ve never thought of seeing you here, son of Sarah”  
Steve lifted his head and barley lost all of his breath: Johann Schmidt, or better Red Skull, or better his worst enemy, was standing in front of him. The facial features of the man didn’t quite change, he was as ugly as he could remember. The only difference was that now is body resembled a ghost.  
“You are the stone’s keeper… it makes sense since you don’t seem to have a soul”  
Red Skull started to fly towards Steve:” So why are you here Captain?” he asked with a hit of teasing in the voice  
“I want to make a deal…an exchange”  
Steve opened his hand and the soul enlightened the path in front of him, making the horrible features of his opponent more prominent.  
“That’s interesting, you want to trade the life of your friend with the stone, but that’s not how it works, I’m afraid it would be to easy, my dear”  
Steve swallowed hard : “Ya. I know how it works; a soul for a soul. I’m not here to give you just the stone, I’m here to give you a soul. My soul. Do you agree?”  
A creepy smile crossed Red Skull’s face: “I agree”  
That was all it takes to make Captain America move near the cliff.  
“Not so fast, I said I agree, but I’m curious of what she thinks about it”  
No  
He saw Natasha’s body being lift up from underneath, she was tied with a translucent rope that encircled her ankles and her wrists. He couldn’t see where the ropes ended, she seems to be attached to the void, just flying over the cliff. Red Skull moved his hands, and the body of Natasha moved along with them. Now she was standing in front of Steve, then he snapped his fingers and Natasha was awake.  
It took her a while to understand what was going on. Everything was so unfocused, the only thing she could feel was the metal taste of the blood that came from her forehead. She tried to move, but it was impossible because of the ropes, so she just give in, and in that moment she becomes aware of the presence of Steve.  
“What’s going on?”  
The last thing she could remember was the moment she fell off the cliff; she finally wiped out the red note on her book. But why was Steve here? It could be…  
“We lost, haven’t we?” that could be the only reason for Steve to be here  
He didn’t had time to answer, because Red Skull started to flying across Natasha’s body, then it started to spoke: “Don’t worry Ivan’s daughter you won, but it has had a price, and I think our Captain here, is not happy about it”  
Natasha gazed in to Steve eyes.  
“what’s going on?” she asked again and again he keep quiet, because Red Skull was faster:  
“it’s so easy, a soul for a soul” his creepy laughter echoed through the air  
“Don’t you dare Steve, don’t you dare…this is my choice, I deserve to be here. We’ve told each other, it takes what it takes”  
Her tears started to fade in the underneath void.  
Steve couldn’t take this anymore:  
“Why are you doing this? Your problem is with me not with her. You’ve always wanted to se me dead, so why are you holding on now?”  
“Oh, I just want to have a little bit of fun… so what’s your choice?”  
He turned to Natasha:  
“Nat, listen, you deserve to live, you’ve already made an amend for you guilts, I’ve lived my life, you deserve to be with Clint, to see his kids grow, to be with your friends, with your family “  
“you are my family Steve”  
“Nat..”  
“Just came home Steve, the war it’s over now”  
Steve turned jerky, on his left Peggy Carter was standing, she was offering him her hand, and on his right there was Bucky barns, not the Winter Soldier, just Bucky barns with his army uniform: “ Hey Steve came on, I’ve found to really pretty girls for hanging o tonight”  
The voice of Red Skull becomes faded in his head:” So, Captain Rogers, what’s your choice now?”  
Steve moved without hesitation towards Peggy and took her hand:  
“Steve it’s over, it’ everything over, we can live our life now”  
With tears in his eyes he gave her a forehead kiss, and then he took her chin between his fingers, while in the other hand the stone was standing.  
“Oh Peggy…I’ve loved you so much.. so so much… you are beautiful…but you are not real”  
It took less then a second, a push, just a single push, and the light body of the woman was falling off the cliff, coming undone in tiny little pieces of dust, like after same seconds Bucky’s body did.  
The feet of Steve were completely covered with water, wail the stone started to pulse in his hand. He didn’t think twice, he just put the stone to the ground then he smashed it with the Mjolnir.  
Then there was a tremendous shout and Red Skull was coming undone exactly how Peggy and Bucky have had. He just watched his worst enemy vanishing forever. After that his attention switched back to Natasha  
“Steve”  
She was trying with all her force to break the ropes, but she was to weak, she was pushing herself against the border of the cliff, but it was to far, she couldn’t reach it, and Steve’s arms were to short for her to grab  
So he took the hammer and using it as an extender he reached for her:  
“Nat, took the hammer”  
And she did, with all hers will, se grabbed the hammer, and Steve pull hard enough to cut the ropes.  
They were on the ground now, stable and secure ground, even if their feet were cold and wet  
“Steve what has happened?”  
“We won Nat, we won”  
“what? How?”  
She seems in disbelief, he could understand that, but they need to move now  
“I will explain later, now we have to go”  
He took Pym’s particle from the belt of his suit and he gave it to her, then he put his hand over hers.  
After, all went dark

 

Earth  
26th of April  
“So, do you want to talk about her?”* Sam asked with a smug grin on his face, to hi former captain and friend  
“No, I think I want”* he said gazing the skyline  
A comfortable silence fell, then they felt the air behind them move.  
“Oh it should be her, he told me she should have be coming” said old Steve with a smile on is face  
“Coming? Who is coming?” a confused Falcon asked, then Bucky started to pull his elbow and it makes him turn around.  
That’s not possible  
Steve Rogers, well a young Steve Rogers was standing in front of the time machine from which, he just vanished five seconds ago. Near him a very much alive Natasha Romanoff.  
“I didn’t think I’d see you again” said old Steve turning to his young self  
“Neither do I” sighed the other Steve  
The awkward silence was broke by Bucky who had the will to ask what everyone was thinking:” Ok guys, what’s going on ?” 

*direct from the movie


	2. man out of time part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks.   
> This is the second part of a three part prologue, after that we will concentrate on Natasha's past.  
> As I've said before forgive my mistakes because english isn't my first language.   
> I feel like I've really messed up with past verb tese this time. english is a weird language.  
> Obviously the charcaters are not mine and all the rights goes to all the legitimate owner, and this is just a ficitonal work

Steve, the young one, sighed heavily. He was meant to do some explanations, but frankly I ‘didn’t even know where to start:  
“Buck, I just…”  
“You broke the time loop, in one universe Steve Rogers is alive, he never went in the ice and he had a happy life, in the other universe, the one in which we are living…well we know what has happened. The question is why both of you are here now”  
Everyone turned to Bruce, who seems the one to had figured out all the mess.  
“Guys, you have had the Steve of two different temporal lines meet…this is not good, this is not good at all. How we could explain the existence of two Captain in the same place and at the same moment?” he said brushing an hand over is face.  
“Bruce, my friend, we won’t” 1945’s Steve responded with a little smile  
“What do you mean?” Sam asked  
“Ok, let me explain everything first. Your Steve, 2023’s Steve, before bring back the soul stone, come to 1945, just before my suicidal mission. He told me everything “  
“What’s everything?” Sam asked again  
“Everything about the ice and the way it would have put my life to stop, everything from 2011 to the second he, well, the second I’ve decided to bring the stones back”  
“Wait, if this is true, you knew about the horrible thing that would have happened in the past…why you didn’t stop it?” said Bucky  
“Buck I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything about it. Everything that had happened since I was injected with the serum brought me right here, and that was what made us beat Thanos…if I had changed something in the past maybe we won’t be here”  
“Doctor Strange was right, there was an only way” Bruce whispered  
“Ya that’s it. Until some minutes ago, I just didn’t live my life in the same way your Steve lived his, but yours Steve and I were the same person. I had the chance to live my life since the moment I brought myself back in the 1945  
“Ok, I begin to understand, but if things are as you have said, why both of you are here?” Bucky asked   
“Well I’m here because that’s what I’ve been told. I knew exactly were I was supposed to be in the year 2023. As you’ve seen I didn’t come from your time machine, I was already there when you’ve found me. I come here alone”  
“Ok that’s explain why you are here….but what about him?” Bruce said pointing his finger towards 2023’s Steve, who tried to respond but Natasha stopped him:  
“he shouldn’t have been here” she whispered staring an undefined point in front of her  
“Nat..” he tried  
“A soul for a soul. You should have been the one who died on Vormir. Your soul was in charge for my soul” she continued without any emotion.  
“What? No that’s no possible, I’ve tried to bring you back, but there was no way… even if you return the stone, the guardian needs a soul, and I’ve tried, I’ve tried to give him my soul, but he didn’t want it, he told me that was useless” sighed Bruce  
“The soul stone is very peculiar, Bruce. The main focus is not on the one who has been sacrificed, but on the one who has been made the sacrifice. Thanos sacrificed Gamora, but the one who paid the consequence of the gesture was him not her. When someone dies it’s over, but the problems will always be there for the people who survive”  
A strong silence fell upon them, as if they were all trying to process what they have just heard, then Bucky spoke:  
“Guys, what happened on Vormir?”  
Young Steve finally had his chance to talk:” I went there, tried to give back the stone, but when I was going to jump off the cliff, the guardian, Red Skull, started to play mind games on me… he showed me you and Peggy… she was telling me to not jump. But I knew she wasn’t real… Peggy would have been safe with me, well the other me, in the 1945. So I’ve just…”  
“Sacrificed her. You have sacrificed the thing you love the most” said the old Steve for him  
“Exactly, after that, I’ve destroyed the stone with Thor’s hammer and then we come here. The fact is that I shouldn’t have had come here…I shouldn’t have had survived”  
“Wow that’s just…wow” Bruce whispered  
“Ok guys, I’m not here to steal a star’s thunder, but how do we solve this?” Sam said pointing a fingers back and forth between the two Steves.  
For the first time in that day old Steve stood up from his position and moved towards young Steve:” I think this belong to you” he said, putting in the hands of his doppelganger his compass.  
2023’s Steve opened it finding out that on the inside there wasn’t the old black and white photo that he was used to, but now there was a colored photo of them, smiling, and on the top of the image 1945’s Steve put a wedding ring, with their names on it.  
“We have been happy, you know? We get married and we adopted 2 beautiful children…you know… with my Dna, a pregnancy could have been dangerous for her. Anyway, thanks to you I’ve lived a fully and truly happy life. Thanks a lot Captain” Old Steve said giving the young one his hand.   
The other took it: “It was a pleasure meeting you”  
It was a goodbye, both of them knew it.  
Old Steve then went to Natasha and hugged her:  
“Why would you do this for me?” she whispered hugging him back.  
“Because I didn’t want you to be alone” he said simply, then they broke apart.   
The old man turned against them and walked towards the river  
“What is he doing?” asked Sam in confusion  
“The world doesn’t need two Captain America, but the world could use a Steve Rogers, but unfortunately that Steve Rogers is not me” the old man responded while he started to sink in the water in front of him. The same water that now was turning red thanks to the light of the twilight.  
This time the tense silence was now broken by Falcon:  
“Well, at the least you didn’t kiss your niece”


End file.
